Harness-operating mechanism for looms.



PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904.

(LP. PBRHAM. HARNESS OPERATING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

7 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1900.

N0 MODEL.

* UNITED STATES Patented August 23, 1904-.

P TENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. PERHAM, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PERHAM-STICKNEY COMPANY, OF TEWKSBURY, MASSACHUSETTS,

A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

- HARNESS-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 768,143, dated August 23, 1904.

Application filed June 14, 1900.

l 7 To all whom, 7,23 may concern:

- Be it known that I, CHARLES FOSTER PER- HAM, of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness- Operating Mechanism for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to looms, and more particularly to harness-operating mechanism therefor. I

The primary object of. the invention is to provide an improved construction by means of which the shed may be closed quickly and opened slowly, so as to enable the loom to be run'at a high speed with little danger of snapping or breaking the warp. In accomplishing the desired result the closing motion may be very rapid, as the tension on the threads.

tends to draw them into parallelism, while the opening motion of the shed should be relatively slow on account of the increased strain upon the thread and should decrease in speed until the shed is entirely formed.

. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement whereby I may dispense with the employment of the shaft supplemental to the crank-shaft which is usu-' ally employed for actuating the harness and operate the latter directly from the crankshaft, thereby rendering the loom compact, reducing the number of parts thereof, and enabling the use of a relatively large warpbeam. v. The manner in which I achieve the objects stated is set forth in detail in the following specification, in which is described the embodiment of the invention illustrated upon the accompanying drawingsx Of the drawings, Figure 1 represents in side elevation a portion of a loom equipped with.

my improvement. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the harness mechanism. Fig. 3 represents the cam.

My invention is particularly applicable to those looms in which a single shaft is employed for directly actuating the lay, the harness mechanism, and the picking mechan- Serial No. 20,306. (No model.)

ism, although it may be employed on looms constructed in other ways, as desired;

The frame of the loom is indicated at a, and it is provided with suitable journals forthe crankshaftb, the latter being provided with the crank c, which is connected with the lay.

any suitable way, those shownhaving the'top cross-bars g It and the lower cross-bars g It. The straps e 0 are connected to the bars [L h v of one of the heddle-frames, While the straps e e are connected to the cross-bars g g of the other frame. The straps e 0 like those at e e, are wound in opposite directions around the small wheels f The shaft f is rocked in opposite directions .to cause the alternate reciprocation of the heddle-frames for the successive formations of the shed.

' On the shaft 6 is rigidly. secured a cam 2',

having an endless cam-groove 71, substantially in the form a figure 8that is tosay, the

groove intersects itself at 2' (See Fig. 3.)

Fu'lcrumed upon a stud j, projecting from a bracket 1" at the side of the loom, there is an elbow-lever 70, having a pointed cam-piece it" pivoted at the end of one arm and extending into the cam-path e". To the end of the other arm is adjustably secured an extension .by. means of a screw 76 passing through a slot Z2. Depending from the extension 70 is an elongated reciprocatory actuator m, which projects for.some distance down past the shaft f.

On the shaft f there is secured an axiallyelongated pulley a, and straps 0 p p are adjustablysecured at their ends to the actuator and extend in opposite directions around the pulley n. The strap 0 extends downward from the actuator, while thestraps p 19 project upward. Consequently when the actuator m is moved up and then down the rockshaft f is first rotated in one direction and then in the other, the straps p being taken up as the strap 0 is drawn out, and vice versa. The lever is is oscillated first in one direction and then in the other, one rotation of the shaft causing one single movement of the said lever.

A diagram of the cam is shown in Fig. 3. For about one-sixth of the circumference of the cam the two parts i a" of the path lie parallel and then they approach each other at 11 until they intersect, as at 2' after which they separate, as at d d, at an angle which is much less than the angle formed at their approach. The result of this is that the campiece la is moved rapidly axially of the cam for a short distance from one end until it reaches a line midway between the ends, and then it is moved slowly toward the other end.

It will be observed that the loom shown and described includes mechanism for closing the shed very rapidly and opening it slowly, the opening motion being of a duration several times greater than the duration of the closing motion. This is of considerable im portance, since it enables the loom to be run at a high rate of speed in weaving fine cloth without causing the heddles to dance or the .warp to break. The provision of mechanism actuated directly by the lay-operating crank-shaft is likewise a feature of importance in a loom of this type, since it obviates the necessity of employing a second shaft geared to the crank-shaft and permits of the employment of a larger warp-beam than has hitherto been used in looms of the same size. It also simplifies the loom, reduces the number of working parts, and enhances the efficiency thereof. Still a third feature of importance to which I wish to invite attention is that the harnesses are hung between two rock-shafts and that therefore each heddle-frame may be connected to the said shafts at various points along its length. This is a desirable thing in a loom, since it prevents the harness from becoming askew during the rapid operation of the machine.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is 1. A loom having a rotary shaft, harnesses, a cam on said shaft having an intersecting groove or path, the angle of convergence being greater than the angle of divergence and mechanism including a lever entering said groove or path, for actuating the harnesses whereby said shed is opened slowly and closed rapidly.

2. A loom having harnesses, ashaft connected to said harnesses, avertically-arranged actuator having oppositely-cxtending straps coiled in opposite directions around said shaft, a cam, and a lever mechanism operated by said cam for reciprocating said actuator; the portion of the cam which controls the movement of the lever mechanism in one direction being more abrupt than the portion which controls the opposite movement, for the purpose of imparting to the said lcvcr mechanism a greater speed in one direction than in the other.

3. A loom havingharnesses,a lay-operating crank-shaft, a cam on said shaft, a rock-shaft connected to the harnesses, an elbow-lever actuated by the cam in alternate directions, the portion of the cam which controls the movement of the lever mechanism in one direction being more abrupt than the portion which controls the opposite movement, for the purpose of imparting to the lever a greater speed in one direction than in the other, and a vertically arranged actuator connected to the elbow-lever and to the rock-shaft for rocking the latter.

4. A loom having harnesscs,and mechanism including a path-cam for actuating the harnesses, said cam having a portion for moving the harnesses to close the shed with rapidity and a relatively less abrupt portion to open the shed with decreasing speed, the opening motion being in duration considerably greater than the closing motion.

5. A loom havingharnesses, and mechanism including a path-cam for actuating the harnesses, said cam having a circumferential 8- shaped groove, the intersecting portions of which converge at a greater angle than that at which they diverge.

In testimony whereof I have aliixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES F. PERHAM.

Witnesses:

M. B. MAY, C. C. S'rnonnn. 

